Authoritative messaging

May 17, 2021 by Lisa Seidenberg

According to Edelman’s 2021 Trust Barometer, business has emerged from the past year’s tumult as our most trusted institution – considered more credible than the media by the American public.

In fact, fewer than half of all Americans acknowledge any kind of trust in mainstream media, and 56% of Americans believe that “[j]ournalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations.”

Why Your Business Needs to Stay Engaged With Media

So why would any business leader bother trying to connect with customers and prospects through the media? On top of the loss of trust, you’ve also got the eternal challenge of ceding control. You can deliver your message to a reporter, but how it gets delivered to the audience, if at all, is entirely up to her and her editors.

In spite of all this, we continue to believe that every business leader should engage with the media as a tool for building their authority, burnishing their brand and fueling their business development. It’s not possible to be a true authority without putting your insights through the gauntlet of media scrutiny. We know those purchasing professional services still trust traditional media – and that it influences their purchasing decisions. And furthermore, it’s possible to ensure your messages get delivered through the media – if you understand successful participation.

Maybe you know all of that and still aren’t convinced. If so, here’s another reason: serendipity. Participating in conversations in the media makes it far more likely that a client or prospect will stumble across your name, your insights or your authority. In other words, rather than connecting on your terms – through one of your owned properties, at a conference, or any other channels you use to get out your message – you’ll be connecting on theirs. Rather than feeling like your message is being pushed on them, your client or prospect will feel like they discovered it themselves – perhaps right at a moment when, searching out answers or new information, they need it the most.

Serendipity & Search Rankings

Intuitively, anyone who has scanned a newspaper page, flipped through a magazine or scrolled a news website can recall the experience of landing on a headline that catches their attention and then reading a story they weren’t searching for. Nowadays, when we finish reading that story we’re more likely to pull up Google and go hunting for more information about what we just read – or about the person who delivered the most insightful quotes.

More importantly, news stories generally rank higher in Google search results than most owned content. Google’s algorithm – more accurately, the software people who build it – clearly believe news stories are, as a whole, more trustworthy than other content. That means links to those stories are more likely to appear on the first page of search results on just about any topic.

And in a bizarre twist, surveys show users trust Google News more than other sources of news – including the publications whose articles it links to. Maybe this is because readers trust the order in which Google presents news stories more than they trust the editors at those publications. Or maybe it’s because they don’t understand there’s a difference between the two.

Whatever the reason, participating in media makes your name and insights more likely to appear in the stories that rank highest in many Google searches. So that potential client searching for information in your area of expertise is more likely to encounter your perspective if it’s in a news story than if it’s on your website.

The Bottom Line: Media Participation Works

We started with a number of data points showing the public’s lack of trust in media. But that might not tell the whole story. Our own research, for instance, shows that C-suite executives continue to trust traditional media above other sources. And a Gallup/Knight Foundation survey from last year found that Americans perceive the media as biased – but that perception is largely related to their political beliefs.

Taken together, these surveys indicate that executive audiences think of the business press separately from the political press. And there is ample data to support the instinctual belief that media coverage is an invaluable lead-generation tool.

The bottom line: even as eroding trust gives you another reason to question the value of earned media, participating in the media conversation remains vital – not just for building your credibility as an authority, but to ensure your prospective audience will find you. Especially when they weren’t looking.

April 20, 2021 by Greentarget

Should we put out a statement? Apply this decision tree and find out

We saw it last year in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. We saw it again after the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January, and again amid the Georgia voting-rights outcry. We’re seeing it now in the wake of the guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin.

It’s getting harder and harder for business leaders to remain silent or neutral when events trigger an emotional public response. But while speaking publicly on these issues will always carry risks, the outcome also presents an opportunity – if not an obligation – to communicate.

In these moments, being able to draw on well-defined organizational values – what you stand for, and how you demonstrate and encourage behavior that lives up to it – should make the process easier, the reception less controversial and the potential for blowback less likely. But not all organizations’ values are apparent enough to make this communication easier. Some aren’t apparent at all.

If your organization falls into either of the latter two categories, our counsel is to get busy defining your values, in writing, now. Whatever happened in Georgia, or the Chauvin trial, it’s clear this won’t be the last time you’ll need something to guide you in addressing sensitive social moments. It may not be the last time this month.

But in the meantime, we’re also here to tell you that, no matter where you are in defining your values, you can get to a sensible decision if you think it through.

Applying a decision tree

Imagine for a moment the decision tree you might apply to the Chauvin scenario.

Will members of your constituency be impacted by this event? Very likely, given the impact and meaning of the event to Black and brown communities who are disproportionate victims of police violence; that said, in this and other scenarios, it may depend on how you define your constituency: Is it your employees? Your clients? The communities you work in and serve? All or some of the above?

Will you feel pressure from employees, clients, vendors or activists/other parties to take a position? This depends on your proximity to the event, but organizations of all types are experiencing this pressure more and more. If you’ve come this far and expect pressure to respond, then this is a no-brainer. You need to prepare a statement.

But hold on. The decision tree doesn’t end there. Consider this:

Is this issue divisive, and/or is your statement likely to cause disagreement or division within your constituency? Put differently, will your constituency agree in its interpretation of the outcome as clearly right or clearly wrong? In the best of circumstances, unanimity is rare in a pluralistic society. It certainly seems impossible within our current hyperpartisan pluralism. So, the answer is likely a yes.

So do you prepare a statement? The decision is no longer quite so clear, complicated by the high likelihood that while you may satisfy one segment of your audience, you risk alienating another or creating divisions among segments – between say, those employees who would defund the police and others who support Blue Lives Matter.

Thus, your decision needs to run through another critical filter:

Is the issue aligned with your organization’s mission? If it aligns with or impacts your mission, start writing.
Have you made such statements in the past? Have you taken actions to back those statements up? The authenticity and credibility of any statement issued to address a fraught moment will not be judged against the values that you claim to profess but by the values you demonstrate through your actions. Values reveal themselves in observable behavior. And an organization that claims to stand for diversity and inclusion, but which has done nothing to advance diversity and inclusion, needs to think carefully about how it participates in the conversation about diversity and inclusion or risk alienating its audience.

All that said, it is quite possible that your mission is in no way related to the circumstances of this event. Whether you’re back in no-brainer territory depends on the final branch of this decision tree:

Is everyone in your organization clear about what it values?
- If yes, does the recent event offend those values? If yes again, your decision to communicate is clear.
- If no – or you’re not sure – does it present an opportunity to affirm your organizational values? To evolve them? Or to contribute to positive change through a statement followed by a change in behavior?

The need to define your organization’s values – today

As we’ve seen, sometimes the decision gets trickier the more you think about it – especially if you started thinking about it for the first time the night before the verdict.

Remember that any statement that is not rooted in broadly recognized organizational values will be (correctly) judged to lack authenticity and credibility. Rather than contribute to the conversation, it will add to the noise. Under these circumstances, it would be better that you say nothing. As we’ve seen, the backlash against companies that offer weak statements regarding depredations of social justice can be fierce.

This is the world we live in: Events that trigger strong emotions on a nationwide scale are coming at us with alarming frequency, and people are looking to business executives for leadership with an intensity that may make many executives uncomfortable. Our recommendation: If you haven’t applied thoughtful energy to defining what your organization values and how you will demonstrate and encourage behavior that expresses those values, this is the time for it. It has never been more necessary.

February 2, 2021 by Joe Eichner

Too many of today’s aspiring thought leaders are more concerned with simply being part of the conversation than adding to it in a meaningful way.

There can be a lot of reasons for this. Often it’s a feeling that they have to keep pace with competitors – the marketing equivalent of FOMO – even if they don’t have anything new to say. Other times, thought leaders have a lot to say, but are afraid their perspective could offend someone, somewhere, and cost them business.

It’s a problem because in almost every case it strips the would-be thought leadership of a point of view – which we believe is essential for establishing authority.

Here’s what aspiring authorities need to know.

Defining POV in the professional services context

The clearest and most succinct definition of point of view that I’ve ever come across is this: a point of view is a statement that others might disagree with.

Consider that a point of view is (by definition) not a statement of fact. Like any good piece of writing, or any good dinner guest, a solid POV should incite further conversation rather than close it off by simply repeating what’s already been said, stating the obvious or saying something patently false or outrageous. A point of view, like those thesis statements we learned about in middle school, suggests a well-constructed argument – and the best arguments are typically those that persuade, excite, or push the conversation forward using hard facts, engaging writing and illustrative examples.

Marketers at professional services firms might say, “Well yes, this is all well and good in theory, but the consensus-driven partnership structure of my organization makes it difficult to actually achieve.” And of course they’re right. It’s rare to find a lawyer or consultant who really wants to go out on a limb and risk offending their partners, clients or potential clients. The rub is that this is often what makes the best point of view – just look at any newspaper’s most read op-ed pieces.

And yet there is a middle ground here. Just because someone might disagree with a point of view doesn’t mean it has to be controversial or combative. For instance, it might simply be, “You’d do it this way? Interesting. Here’s why I think you should do it this way instead…”

Alternatively, sometimes a compelling, subjective point of view shines through the voice and distinct personality of the writer. Most movie critics, for instance, fawned over Moonlight (see: a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). But the lack of dissension doesn’t render each critic’s review moot. That’s because good critics express that same opinion in new and unique ways – through their individual experiences, interesting historical and industry context, their personal prose style – that set each review apart and opens up more space for conversation and disagreement.

Similarly, a consultant could agree that we need more focus on environmental, social and governance considerations at the board level (at this point, who doesn’t?). But they may also disagree on the best ways to go about it – or simply have different priorities. They may view it through the lens of, say, the consultant’s stint in South Africa during apartheid, or in advising directors who were early ESG adopters. Nobody needs to hear another call to adopt ESG. But drawing on unique experiences could help make the case for ESG in a way that nobody else has.

All of which brings me to another definition, one perhaps more palatable to professional services firms: a point of view is a statement that is made more compelling by virtue of the author’s unique perspective.

How to find your professional services firm’s POV in 4 steps

Crafting a quality POV takes work. Namely – and this is what most would-be thought leaders elide – what you want to say is only one part of the puzzle. You also need to understand what’s already been said about the topic and what your audience wants to hear about the topic. Only then can you figure out what you (and ideally only you!) can bring to the table.

Ask yourself, or the would-be thought leader you’re working with, these four questions to get there:

1) Can you frame the topic as a “how” or “why” question?

This question should articulate a pain point of a particular audience, e.g., “How should corporate leaders maintain their culture when everyone’s working from home?”

Forcing yourself to frame your topic this way not only directs your content towards an audience need, but does so in a way which pushes past the simple “what” (i.e., the information anyone could find on Wikipedia or a news site) and into the more meaty terrain of “why” or “how.”

2) What has been – and is being – said about the topic you want to write about?

Think of this as an audit of the current conversation. If your objective is to add to that conversation meaningfully, you have to know what’s been said so that you don’t merely repeat what everyone already knows.

Remember, this is the first step in an iterative process. It’s possible that you’ll start out thinking you have a unique POV, only to find three people have already said the same thing. So keep digging. Sometimes the solution is to think smaller and find a narrower, more specific angle (or audience); in other words, to do more with less rather than less with more. Other times, you might find an existing POV that you disagree with, which can act as a springboard for your own (“Numerous folks have said X…but I believe that Y is the right answer…”). And other times the solution will come from how you, specifically, can address the issue.

This step is where research (and a partner like Greentarget…hint, hint) can play an important role, be it by assessing media narratives, analyzing keyword search patterns or surveying audiences to get a more accurate picture of their views and concerns.

3) What does your desired audience need and/or want to hear about this topic?

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes: What’s keeping them up at night when it comes to this issue? What don’t they know that they should be prepared for? How can you illustrate this in a way that will grab their attention (i.e. with specific examples, anecdotes, statistics, etc.)? And, perhaps most importantly, why do they need to know this right now?

In our research, we’ve found that when it comes to thought leadership content, utility is what attracts C-suite executives to content more than any other attribute. Utility disrupts the professional services sales cycle by answering the question “what do I need to do to navigate or address this issue today?” Ideally, it provides the answer before the audience has asked it. It empowers audiences to act by tipping the scales from passive consumer to engaged prospect. With utility, authorities will be heeded. Without utility, it’s all just talk. More talk means more noise.

4) Why should you be the one to write this?

Once you’ve assessed the current conversation and your audience’s needs, you’ll be in a good position to figure out what you can uniquely add to the conversation. Here the (admittedly aspirational) test for good thought leadership might be: Could someone else have written his?

Of course, it’s unrealistic to think that you are, say, the only accountant that can dish insights around the complexities of PPP loan forgiveness. But that’s where your personal voice and experience – attributes that no one else has – comes in. This can be professionally related, sure, but it can also be more personal: Can you connect this to something you’ve experienced? Some other industry or news trend you’re following? A hobby of yours? A client you’ve assisted in the past?

At the end of all this, hopefully you’ll have something that doesn’t just add to the noise – but contributes to a smarter conversation.

December 18, 2020 by Greentarget

Companies across the country are investing in data and how to harness it, yet some continue to struggle with using that data to tell their story. That means they’re missing the opportunity to create transparency within their organization and, most notably, the chance to exercise their authority through the contextual awareness their data can bring.

In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and Narrative Science President Nick Beil discuss going beyond the dashboard and into data, the relationship between transparency and authority and data overload in the age of COVID.

Episode Highlights

1:17 – Nick provides his background and introduces his company, Narrative Science.

2:32 – Nick discusses if hard data or the stories behind those numbers carries more authority.

4:10 – An in-depth example of how contextual data is more powerful than data on its own, particularly within the COVID-19 pandemic.

8:09 – Analysis of how busy executives prefer to receive their data.

10:25 – Aaron and Nick discuss the relationship between transparency and authority, and the role trust plays.

14:00 – Nick gives examples of industries that are ahead of the curve with their data strategy and highlights which industries are lagging.

16:55 – Nick provides insight into how he gets organizations that are behind the curve to reconsider their data strategy.

19:02 – Discussion about potential data overload amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

20:50 – Aaron and Nick discuss organizations and leaders who have demonstrated true authority during the pandemic.

Subscribe to Authority Figures on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

December 2, 2020 by Greentarget

Incumbent law firms have advantage in the battle for clients’ attention, but substantive content creates openings for challenger firms

Chicago, December 2, 2020 – By bringing in-person client interactions to a virtual halt, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a digital content explosion as law firms compete for the attention of clients and prospects. A new study of in-house counsel shows that providing substantive, actionable guidance remains the best way to rise above the noise, preserve existing client relationships, and win new ones.

These findings are detailed in the report, “How to Win and Protect Client Relationships in the Age of Remote Engagement,” released today by strategic communications firm Greentarget, legal consultancy Zeughauser Group, and B2B branding agency Right Hat. The August 2020 survey of 75 in-house lawyers, including 37 general counsel, offers important guidance for law firms anticipating an extended period of remote outreach.

The survey’s top findings include:

Stick to Substance: 53 percent of respondents say they most want communications from outside counsel that relay substantive legal or business information. And substantive legal or business information is also most likely to generate a response from in-house counsel, especially for incumbent firms. For challenger firms, content that provides actionable guidance is the best route to sparking a conversation.
Incumbent Firms Beware! 68 percent of in-house counsel say communication from existing outside counsel is of greatest value, but 31 percent say they place great value on communications from firms introduced to them by friends or colleagues. This suggests a clear opening for challenger firms with the right connections and approach.
Pick Up the Phone – to Call or Text: Amid the age of digital communication, in-house lawyers most prefer the simplicity and intimacy of a telephone call or text. Picking up the phone affords outside counsel the chance to check in on a client personally before raising an emerging business or legal issue.
Stay Relevant to Be Read or Shared: More than half of in-house lawyers surveyed are willing to give communications from existing law firms (56 percent) and unfamiliar law firms (50 percent) at least a perfunctory read for relevance. Twenty-eight percent go further, saying that they appreciate good content sent from both types of firms, and they forward these communications to peers when appropriate.
Perspective Wanted on Pressing Legal and Business Issues: 69 percent of in-house counsel say they want content on COVID-19’s impact on the economy and their businesses; nearly as many (65 percent) want content on business and legal topics not related to COVID-19. When we asked in-house counsel to name issues they’d like to hear about from firms, diversity, equity and inclusion topped the list.
Forget Zoom Cocktail Hours: Seeking to fill the vacuum created by the inability to entertain clients, some firms have gotten creative with virtual social events. But virtual entertainment has little appeal for most in-house lawyers; 51 percent of respondents say they simply are not interested, and 40 percent say that they don’t want to engage with law firms in this manner.

“Establishing authority on business issues was challenging even before COVID-19, but the pandemic has forced lawyers and law firms to accelerate their digital literacy,” said John Corey, Greentarget’s founding partner. “At a time when it’s never been easier to project a message to the masses, it is more difficult than ever to really be heard. Leading with substantive, actionable content shows both clients and prospects you have a keen understanding of their challenges – and the insights to help solve them.”

“While the tools we are using to reach clients and prospects may be changing, best practices are not. Effective marketing and business development during the pandemic are still rooted in developing strong relationships with clients – relationships predicated on helping them make good decisions in real time,” said Zeughauser Group partner Norm Rubenstein. “And it’s clear that clients want trusted advisors now more than ever.”

Added Elonide Semmes, president, Right Hat LLC, “Law firms not only need to scrutinize their communications to ensure they contain actionable guidance that is scannable and easy to understand. They need to make sure that their communications feature clear, straightforward business language and compelling design that pulls the reader right to the most important content.”

What Law Firms Should Do

The report concludes with a series of recommendations for breaking through in the age of information overload, particularly given the increased flow of digital communication clients are receiving during the pandemic.

These recommendations start by reminding outside counsel that phone calls and texts are a welcome alternative to email; that evaluating content for its relevance, urgency, novelty and utility will distinguish it from the bulk of what clients are receiving; that all communication to clients and prospects should be customized; that incumbent law firms should avoid complacency; that investing in prospects can differentiate a firm seeking to develop a new relationship, and that bigger and bolder thought leadership projects – like research reports and podcasting – can show clients that a law firm is sensitive to their preferences and priorities.

A full version of the report is available here. For more information, contact Lisa Seidenberg at lseidenberg@greentarget.com or (312) 252-4108.

About Greentarget

Greentarget is a strategic public relations firm that helps leading law firms, accounting firms, management consulting, real estate and financial services organizations create unique positions of authority through skillful participation in the conversations that matter most to their key stakeholders. With 60 professionals in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and London, Greentarget combines earned media, research and market intelligence, content and publishing, digital strategy and amplification, and special situations counsel to help clients grow market share, attract leading talent and achieve a higher purpose. For more information, visit www.greentarget.com.

About Zeughauser Group

Zeughauser Group is the firm of choice for legal industry leaders seeking to increase competitive advantage and profitability, enhance market position, and strengthen organizational culture. With partners who have served as former generals counsel and as law firm chairs, managing partners, and chief marketing officers, Zeughauser Group advises clients on strategic planning and growth initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions; on best practices in marketing, branding, and business development; on client feedback programs; and on law firm management and governance, including organizational models and their assessments. For more information, visit www.consultzg.com.

About Right Hat

Right Hat is a leading B2B branding agency that helps law firms develop powerful go-to-market strategies. We are passionate about helping firms inspire buyers to want to learn more. We collaborate closely with our clients to deliver bold ideas and stunning websites, ad campaigns, thought leadership programs and business development tools. For more information, visit www.righthat.com.